Don't forget me
by Dinorider15
Summary: Sometimes you think you know something, you're sure of it, but you just can't quite grasp it. It's on the tip of your tongue. It can be frustrating at the best of times, but if you can't remember a thing? Your whole life? Well that certainly escalates things... Katara and Aang wake up with no memory of who they are or what happened to them. Oh, and they're falling out of the sky.
1. Chapter 1 - the fall

So here we are again. It's always such a pleasure. Hopefully someone got that cheeky reference. I think this will be an interesting story. I'm not entirely sure how it's gonna turn out but hey, what's life without the surprises. Before I ramble any further let's get started!

Disclaimer: I did not create Avatar: The Last Airbender nor do I claim to have.

* * *

The first thing that Katara noticed when she woke up was the fierce howling of the wind around her. She opened her eyes only to see that she was hundreds of meters above the ground. And falling. Fast. Immediately panic built up inside her and she started to scream. To her surprise she wasn't alone. There was someone else, a boy, falling with her, asleep. The boy's eyes flashed open and he immediately started screaming too when he realised what was happening. He wasn't much younger than her. Twelve? Thirteen maybe? She wasn't sure. But currently there were bigger problems.

"Hey!" she yelled trying to get the boy's attention. He didn't seem to hear her over the violent winds so she tried again. This time she caught his attention, the boy looking up at her in shock. They tried to move themselves towards each other in the air, trying to get a hold of one another. Just as the ground approached she managed to grab hold of his leg pulling herself towards him and bracing for impact.

Then… Nothing. Hesitantly she opened her eyes to see the air swirling around beneath her, keeping her airborne. However, this was not the most surprising thing. The most surprising thing was that the strange ball of air seemed to be coming from the hands of the boy who had been falling with her. He was staring at it eyes wide in shock. After a moment of disbelief at the sight before her she realised that she was still clinging on to the boy and couldn't help but blush. When he snapped out of his daze and realised she was hanging on to him he jumped causing the ball of air to dissipate and both of them to fall down. Groaning from the pain of the fall they lifted themselves up. Katara looked up at where she had fallen. For a second she could have sworn that she saw the faint outline of some kind of flying animal but dismissed it. Around them was the outskirts of a forest meeting the ocean on a sandy beach. It was only morning, that much was clear from the rising sun on the horizon.

"What just happened?" he asked exasperated.

"The falling or the crazy air ball that saved us?" Katara responded.

"Both!"

"I have absolutely no idea" she replied honestly.

At a loss for words the boy looked around as if searching for answers before stopping, an alarmed expression taking over his face.

"What is it?" she asked concerned.

"I don't… I don't know who I am" he said after a pause.

Before Katara could console him she was hit with a sudden realisation herself.

"Spirits, I don't know either! What- how- How did this happen!" she exclaimed in a panic running her hands though her hair.

"So two kids, a boy and a girl, fall out of the sky with no memory of who they are" he said slowly as he tried to assess the situation.

"What about that thing you did. That thing with the air" she pointed out.

"Woah woah woah. We don't know that was me" he argued though he didn't sound convinced.

"Of course it was! Wait a minute... you're an airbender! You have to be" she stated with certainty.

Although obviously still unsure the boy conceded "Okay so let's say I am an airbender. But that still doesn't explain what's going on."

"Maybe. But I feel like it's connected somehow" she pondered saying her thoughts out loud. "So we don't remember anything?" the boy shook his head. "Not even your name?" she added.

He paused for a moment "Aang. My name is Aang."

"And I'm Katara" she greeted smiling lightly.

"Katara… sound's familiar" he murmured frowning slightly.

"Do you think we knew each other? I mean before all this" she motioned around her "happened."

"I think we did" he answered. "How do we fix this?"

"We should travel to the nearest town. See if anyone there knows what's going on" she offered.

"Better than nothing" he said with a shrug.

They headed into the forest, trekking over fallen logs and narrow streams searching for any signs of civilisation. They talked whilst they walked, trying to jog their memories somehow.

"What was… your favourite colour?" Katara questioned.

"Just like the other 100 questions, the answer is still 'I don't know'" he answered tiredly. "When… is your birthday?"

"No clue."

"Wow, didn't see that coming" he said dryly.

Katara sighed. "I know you're tired but we've got to try and find out who we are."

"Yeah, sorry. It's just-" he stopped frowning.

"What?"

"Do you hear that? It sounds like… music" he said confused.

Sure enough what sounded like someone singing and playing the guitar was getting louder until a man came around the corner leading a small group of people who were dancing and playing instruments.

The pair looked at each other bemused before approaching the strange group of travellers.

"Hey, master arrowhead! Haven't seen you since the cave" the man greeted cheerfully.

"We've met?" Aang replied confused.

"We went through the cave of two lovers together! Where's Sokka?" he asked searching around for him.

Sokka… she was sure that she knew who that was. She just couldn't place her finger on it. Also, for some inexplicable reason she found herself blushing when the man mentioned the cave of two lovers. She brushed it off as just another part of her she couldn't remember but the feeling still lingered. "Look…" she started, trailing off as she tried to remember his name.

"Chong"

"Chong, me and Aang have lost our memory. We can't remember anything about ourselves, including whatever happened when we met you and your friends" she explained.

"Ohhhhh. You've got amnesia. I had that once. Huh good times" he laughed staring off into the distance.

"You did! You can help us!" Aang said excitedly.

"How?" he asked confused.

"You know how to help us get our memories back!" Katara said joining in Aang's excitement.

"I know. But it isn't gonna be easy" Chong warned looking between the two of them concerned.

Katara looked to Aang who simply nodded.

"We'll do whatever it takes" she told him confidently.

"If you say so little lady. To get your memories back all you need to do is go to the places where you made them" Chong explained.

"We have to go everywhere we've ever been?" Aang asked, his hope disintegrating.

Chong shook his head "Not all of them. Just the ones that were most important to you."

"But how are we supposed to know what those memories are? I don't even know my own birthday!" Katara complained.

"When we met you guys you were heading to Omashu. You could go there!" Chong said pleased at his idea.

Aang shrugged "Well it's a start."

"I guess. Omashu it is" she confirmed. "Thank you Chong, you were a big help"

"Hey, I think I've got a song coming on!" then he started happily singing _"Two travellers, trying to regain memory, but everything's so blurry_ _in their minds"_ he paused concentrating "I can't think of a next bit. Good luck with your amnesia!"

And so they were off with no idea who they were, what was going on or why and with only a single destination in mind. Looking to the horizon they could make out the faint outline of the great city's pyramids reaching into the sky.

"Omashu here we come."

* * *

And there we are. Was that a bit… I don't know, common? I've read a fair few amnesia fics in my time so this might be really boring for you. If it is sorry. I thought I'd make my play on it by taking away both their memories + I thought it'd be fun to drop them out of the sky. But yeah I think I'm done here so let's wrap this up.

Good day.


	2. Chapter 2 - the river

Oi oi oi. Sup my main men, how you all doing? Rhetorical question; you're all awesome. Time for chapter 2 of my first real multi-chapter story thing. Kind of exciting. Let me know how it turns out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor does anyone on this sight.

* * *

It was hot. REALLY hot. They had been walking for hours now through the sweltering heat and it was wearing them down. The sun scorched the ground beneath their feet and Omashu was just a hazy blur in the distance, distorted by the intense heat. Katara wiped the sweat off of her forehead and reached for her water only to find that there was but a drop left.

"We're out" she complained, exhausted causing Aang to groan.

"We really need to find somewhere to sto- hey what's that!" he said in excitement rushing over to what looked like nothing.

"Um Aang? What are you doing?" she asked looking at him quizzically.

He looked at her in disbelief "Water!" he cried, excitedly attempting to drink the 'water'. Upon realisation that said 'water' was dirt he spat it out disgusted. Katara stifled a giggle watching him get rid of the soil in his mouth.

"How about we try and find some real water?" she offered smirking bringing him away from his imaginary oasis.

"Yeah. That would be good" he conceded embarrassed as they carried on walking along the rough path. Eventually they found a small river which they wasted no time making use of.

"Was water always this sweet?" she wondered in relief as she hurriedly drained the river. When she didn't get a response she looked around to see that Aang had disappeared.

Then behind her she heard a big splash and saw Aang surface from the water grinning widely, eliciting a laugh from Katara.

"Come in! The water's great!"

"You know I think I'm fine on- AHHH" she screamed as Aang grabbed her leg pulling her in. After taking a moment to take in the situation she smirked at him evilly "Oh you're in for it now." What was meant to be a light splash instead became a tidal wave. "Aang!" she cried as he disappeared under the water. She swam over to where he had been worriedly searching for him. He crawled out of the water onto bank a couple meters away coughing out water "Spirits, Aang I'm so sorry! I- I- I don't even know what I did. I just wanted to- I am so sorry!" she apologised in a panic. To her surprise he started laughing.

"You're a waterbender" he stated smiling. The cogs started to turn in Katara's mind as she made the connections.

"I'm… a waterbender" she muttered slowly having trouble registering it. Perhaps the most surprising thing was that it didn't seem to faze her. It was almost as if she knew it all along. Suddenly memories came flooding back to her. Memories of her controlling water in ways she didn't even know were possible. "I am a waterbender! I- I was really good at it too! Aang, I can remember!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Katara that's great!" he congratulated enthusiastically "Can you do it?"

"Do what?" she asked confused.

"Waterbend. You said you remember waterbending, so can you do it? Can you waterbend?"

"I don't know Aang… I mean remembering those thing's happening is one thing, actually doing them is another" she said twisting her hair nervously.

"Sure you can! Try" he encouraged motioning for her to give it a go.

She sighed "Alright, but don't expect this to work" she faced the river and took a deep breath. Then to her amazement she started to move the water through the air gracefully. It swiftly flowed around her, weaving around trees and freezing into a smooth plate of ice. She stared shocked as the ice melted into a pool of water surrounding her.

"Wow…" Behind her Aang was watching in awe, just as surprised by the incredible display of bending "Katara, that was amazing."

She found herself blushing at his comment but couldn't shake her astonishment at what she had done. It was as if it came naturally to her, like she had done it a million times over. "How.. how did I just do that?" she wondered baffled.

"This is great, we're gonna be back to our normal selves in no time!" Aang said confidently.

Katara paused in thought "Well if I can waterbend then maybe you should try and airbend. You already proved that you can do it, why not try and do it on purpose?" she proposed.

Aang stood up, turning away from Katara facing the open. He focused and just followed his instincts. He thrust his arms forward and a great wind rushed through past him into the trees, flinging twigs and pebbles.

He turned around and grinning at Katara "I did it!" he said proudly.

"I told you, you could do it" she congratulated smiling back.

"A waterbender and an airbender. Huh. We must have made quite a team" Aang thought.

"I'll bet. Anyway, who says were not a good team right now?" she asked jokingly.

"True."

 _Meanwhile…_

Above, way up on one of the earth kingdom's many mountains a hooded figure observed the young monk and waterbender as they tested their abilities. His cloak billowed in the wind whilst he kept his eyes trained on the two below.

"He doesn't know yet" a voice from behind spoke calmly.

"Would you rather he did?" the figure retorted.

"No. But he'll figure it out. Sooner than you think" the voice responded coolly.

Rather than replying the hooded figure simply continued to stare down at Aang and Katara by the river as they started to carry on their trek to Omashu "We move at sundown."

* * *

Oooohh, mystery. The plot thickens. Who are they? What do they want? Do they have something to do with their apparent amnesia? So many questions and so few tidy answers. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter of the story. Little bit worried that I might get caught up in the story and forget the big ROMANCE category at the top of the page but I'm sure I'll manage. This is Dinorider signing off.

Good day.


	3. Chapter 3 - the town

And the story continues. I had a little promise with my brother that I would watch all of game of thrones if he watched all of avatar and I finally finished watching all five seasons. Now I should have more time on my hands for writing so hopefully more/bigger/better chapters though I make no promises. On a side note my brother really enjoyed avatar so that's awesome :). Enough ramble.

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is not my property and I never asked for it to be.

* * *

Things were felt like they were becoming almost normal in Katara's life. Sure she still had no clue who she was but she wasn't nearly as terrified as she was when she first awoke in the sky. They camped and they walked, it was routine. Not ideal, but peaceful nonetheless. She could also see why her and Aang had been friends before they lost their memory. They got on well and he certainly wasn't bad company. She wondered what memories they had together that she couldn't remember. Whatever they were she was sure that they were important to her even if she didn't know what they were yet.

Since daybreak they had been following a narrow stone path up until they reached a village. What really stood out was how industrious and lively the village was. Everyone was on their way to one place or another and seemed as though they were in a hurry. Perhaps even more notable was the large creatures that were working alongside the people.

"Ahhhh who do we have here!" said a cheerful voice nearby.

She turned her gaze from the creatures to the source of the voice, an elderly man in formal clothes who was looking at them with a wide grin stretched across his face.

"We're just passing through" Aang explained.

"Then may I have the honour of welcoming you to the great town of Niúmǎ. I am the mayor here, if you need anything then don't be afraid to ask. You name the problem and I guarantee you that someone here has the fix!" he exclaimed proudly.

"That's very kind sir but really we're only stopping off here on our way to Omashu" Katara told him apologetically.

For a second she thought she might have seen the man's smile falter slightly at that but he was quick to hide it returning his wide smile.

"As you wish. But I implore you to explore what our town has to offer. I think you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised" he followed Katara's gaze to the creatures at work around them "Ahhhh, I see you've noticed our badgermoles. Our town has been aided by badgermoles for many years to help the villagers do anything from farming to simply pulling carts. They are most magnificent, certainly Niúmǎ's pride and joy" he explained gesturing to the animals as they performed their various tasks.

Katara thought that it sounded fascinating, the idea of man and beast working together to make a nice little town like this.

"And the badgermoles are just happy to help?" Aang asked sceptically.

"Oh yes! They are most cooperative. Our forefathers worked together with the badgermoles to found this town and their lives have been intertwined with ours ever since" the mayor told them theatrically.

The sound of bells ringing echoed through the streets as the clock struck the hour. The mayor sighed "I'm sorry but I must leave you now, my duties as mayor require attention. Remember if there is anything you need, anything, don't hesitate to ask" he insisted before bowing and leaving.

"Seems like a nice town" she commented to Aang as the man walked off.

"Yeah… nice" he replied sounding unsure "I think we should get moving, we still have a long way to go"

"Aang, we've been walking for days, we should rest for a bit" he was about to interject before Katara added "in a proper bed, not a tent"

He sighed "Alright, let's stay. But we're leaving tomorrow."

"Thank you."

They went to the market to stock up on supplies before looking for somewhere to spend the night. For some reason Aang was acting weird as they walked through the town, he always seemed to wear the same slight frown, his eyes fixated on the badgermoles. Other than that it was a peaceful walk, the town seemed very light and cheerful. The people didn't stop to talk much, being busy at work and all, but those that did seemed friendly enough. At the inn they asked for two rooms which the lady at the counter gave them with a smile.

"I'm gonna head to my room and put down our stuff" she told him turning around to leave.

"Katara?" he started looking concerned.

"Yes?"

"Well… ahh it's nothing. See you in the morning" he said shaking his head. She cocked her head to the side bemused but didn't press any further.

Later that evening Katara laid awake at night staring at the ceiling. She couldn't fall asleep, a common problem for her since she fell out the sky without a memory of her former life. There were just too many questions left unanswered, too much to think about. Although she obviously wanted to know who she really was and the life she had lived she was also scared. Terrified, in fact. What if it turned out that she wasn't one of the good guys? A roadside bandit? A cutthroat? They all sounded terrible. Though if that were true then that would probably mean that Aang was those things too, and she thought the chance of Aang being a ruthless mercenary were about as high as a tigerdillo flying past her window. No, not Aang. If there was one thing she was sure of was that Aang was definitely not a bad person. A fact that she found quite reassuring. Despite her apparent insomnia she eventually began to feel drowsy and drifted off to sleep, too tired to hear a distant voice yell her name.

Katara awoke the next morning with the sun shining through the curtains. It looked as though she had slept in by how bright it was. She groaned in annoyance, normally they liked to travel early so they could cover the most ground. What was strange was that it was normally Aang that woke her, him being an early riser. Regardless they needed to get moving so she got dressed and went to have a look in his room. He wasn't there, probably gone to get some fresh air. She decided to ask the lady at the desk if she had seen him leave.

"Sorry to bother you ma'am but you wouldn't happen to have seen my friend leave did you?" she queried.

The woman paused in thought for a moment "Sorry, can't say I have" the lady replied apologetically.

Katara went around the village, going to the places that they visited the day before but the airbender was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he had vanished. Although the busy populace continued their daily business unaware, Katara felt panic rush up inside her like a hurricane. For the first time since Katara had dropped out of the she began to feel truly isolated.

She was alone.

* * *

Well oh dear. That's not good. We appear to have lost an Aang. As always, let me know if you liked it. Or hated it I suppose, just so long as it's constructive criticism not mindless abuse. Open to suggestions, 9 out of 10 times they're better than my own ideas. Other than that I bid you farewell.

Good day.


	4. Chapter 4 - the return

It's February. Where did all that time go? Last time we were left with Katara's chilling discovery that Aang was missing. Should have had Aang insurance to be honest. Some people just don't think ahead. Now let us continue the story and find out the answer to the question on everybody's minds: Will Katara ever get Aang insurance?

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender was never my property, I don't have that kind of money.

* * *

Behind her was the soothing sound of water gently splashing into the basin of the fountain. Katara found that it quite calming, alleviating some of her stress. This was something that she certainly needed. After realising that Aang had disappeared she sat down on a bench by a fountain in the town centre. It was all she could do to put her mind at ease whilst she tried to get a hold of the situation. She supposed it was something to do with being a waterbender, it felt like she had some kind of connection too it.

'It's okay Katara, you can do this' she thought 'So Aang's gone, big deal. You can get him back no problem.' She tried to make herself believe that, she truly did but it was useless. Aang was gone and with him went everything else. He was the only thing tethering her to her old life and now that he had disappeared she could feel everything slipping through her fingers. It wasn't just that though. Aang was her friend, and if there was one thing she knew about herself was that she stood by her friends. She needed him back and in a moment of determination she decided resolutely that she would do just that.

The mayor was sitting at his desk in the town hall, comfortably skimming through various letters from the townsfolk. There was a knock on the door to which he barely looked up, absentmindedly telling the person to come in. He looked up to see Katara close the door behind her.

"Why hello, miss…" he trailed off.

"Katara" she put in helpfully.

"Miss Katara. Please, take a seat" he encouraged, putting down his papers and gesturing to the chair opposite him "Now to what do I owe this pleasure."

"I was wondering if you could help me find something" she began.

"Of course! If it exists then it's somewhere on these streets. Perhaps you should-" the mayor insisted enthusiastically before being interrupted.

"Someone."

It was almost impossible to notice, the ever so subtle change in his expression. But Katara did not miss it and now she knew everything she needed to know.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Although it pains me to say it, but your friend may well be lost to the woods. Many who enter the forest do not leave, it is a sad truth but a reality nonetheless" he explained sympathetically.

There was a long pause before anyone said anything "I should have known this would happen. He's always been reckless, this day was going to come sooner or later" Katara said emotionlessly, staring down at the oak planks "Thank you for your help mayor. I- I think I need some time to take it all in."

"Of course. Take all the time you need" the man insisted as Katara got up and bowed before exiting. It wasn't until she returned back to her room at the inn did she reveal the various documents that were previously hidden under her coat.

"Now let's see who you really are mayor…"

 _The Evening_

Under the cover of darkness a lone waterbender moved silently across the rooftops of the town. The moon's glow faintly illuminated the streets whilst the stars were concealed by a thick layer of clouds. Remembering the route from one of the maps she had snagged from the mayor's office she made her way to the courtyard. Sliding down the piping of a building she ducked into the nearby shrubbery, peaking out to get a look at her surroundings.

What she saw was worse than she feared. Lining the courtyard were dozens of metal enclosures each containing one of the badgermoles they had seen 'helping' around the town the day before. The animals could barely lift a paw from the tight space of the cages, most lying down looking at the ground sadly. After reading the stolen documents from the mayor she had discovered what really happened with the badger moles, but that didn't make it any easier to look at the poor creatures.

Suddenly Katara's mind flashed back to a different time. She was in a prison surrounded by dejected earthbender prisoners. It then flashed to images of the same earthbenders using lumps of coal to fight back against their imprisoners. Then it was over, she stared wide eyed at the ground before her expression turned steadfast once more.

Standing by the cages were two guards, presumably on duty guarding the animals. She looked to her waist where her flask was equipped. She took a deep breath before in one swift movement she burst out of the bushes, rushing up to the guards and freezing them before they had a chance to react. She looked from cage to cage but there was still no sign of who she was looking for. Eventually she reached two large metal doors. Hesitantly she slowly pushed them open to see Aang in chains against a wall.

"Aang!" she cried rushing over to him to free him.

He looked up his eyes wide "Katara! How did you find me" Aang asked surprised.

"Sshhh, no time to explain. We need to get out of here" she whispered freezing his chains and shattering them and releasing him. They made their way outside to where the badgermoles were, making sure that they weren't seen.

"We don't have long. Someone's bound to notice somethings not right soon" Katara warned.

Aang looked at the rows of cages before turning to Katara with purpose in his eyes "They deserve better than this. We have to help them."

Katara simply nodded in agreement and they set to work breaking the locks with a combination of waterbending and airbending. Unfortunately the animals were rather eager to leave and made quite a lot of noise as they stampeded out of the gates. It wasn't long until they heard alarm bells ringing and panicked shouts.

After setting the last badgermole free they sprinted to the courtyard exit only to find themselves surrounded by guards. Leading them was the mayor of the town who now had a displeased frown plastered across his face.

"All I ever did was try and help you" he looked around him raising his hands "This is how you repay my generosity?"

"Help us? You were only trying to help yourself!" Aang yelled angrily.

The mayor's frown only deepened further "Do you know what it's like to run a town this close to a city like Omashu? It's like we don't exist. We're nothing more than a stop off before the city" he explained bitterly. "When we first brought in the badgermoles no one batted an eyelid at Niúmǎ. They are what made this town something and now they're gone thanks to you"

Aang growled "You can't justify slavery, mayor. Those animals were wild creatures and you- you imprisoned them!"

"I did what I had to do to save this town! Just as I will do now, guards take the girl a waterbender ought to bring in the crowds."

The guards shuffled uncomfortably before one spoke up "the boy, sir?"

"Take care of him" he said offhand as he walked away.

The guards began to move in, Katara and Aang were back to back ready to fight. Before they could lift a finger the earth shook as the guards' legs were encased in rock. Around them badgermoles burst out of the ground knocking over the guards and trapping any that tried to escape. The mayor turned around startled by the commotion before clumsily running away from the animals. A badgermole surfaced in front of him opening a crevice which trapped the mayor.

When they snapped out of their shock they faced the group of badgermoles that they had freed earlier.

Aang stepped forward "I promise your kind won't be oppressed anymore. From now on you're all free badgermoles" he promised with a smile, bowing respectfully. The group burrowed underground leaving the two of them alone in the clearing. A gentle breeze blew through the air as they stood there looking at each other in silence.

"Hey Katara…" Aang trailed off hesitantly.

Before he had a chance to continue Katara leapt at him hugging him tightly "Don't leave again" she whispered quietly. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, blushingly lightly as he rested his hands on her back.

That day they left Niúmǎ, following the trail to Omashu without looking back. To the untrained eye they were just two more travellers making their way to the big city. But they knew they weren't just travelling companions. They were in this together or not at all. They were partners.

 _Somewhere nearby_

"That went well" a voice pointed out.

"Yes… but let's just hope it stays that way" the hooded figure replied with scepticism.

"They always have"

The cloaked drifter sighed "If we can't… if things aren't like they used to be again he'd never forgive me"

"You still blame yourself for that? You know it was the only way" they said, a hint of sympathy in their voice.

Behind them a low groan disturbed the peace eliciting a chuckle from the stranger.

"Alright, Appa. Let's go."

* * *

That's right. I dropped the Appa-bomb. Watcha gonna do. Look I'm super sorry that I didn't update this sooner. I was having some emotional problems of my own that I needed to deal with. I really hope you don't hate me. I'm not promising anything but I'm gonna try and get a oneshot out for valentine's day. It will probably be Kataang but there's a slim possibility that it'll be Caleo. As per usual please take the time to review if you enjoyed it, they mean more to me than you'll ever know.

Good day.


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